Smartphones being used to train vets

Smartphones are increasingly being used in innovative ways, with the device coming to be more than just a personal tool.

Take for example vets. A few years ago you would have struggled to have thought the tech could be utilised by these specialists, but today, well, there possibilities are now endless.

Vets are now using smartphones as educational tools, with the University of Liverpool leading the way in terms of innovation.

Speaking to House & Hound recently, Avril Senior, a lecturer at the university’s school of veterinary science, said that the school has a “very active technology-enhanced team” that is open to new ideas.

She explained that her colleagues are keen to enrich the learning experience by learning about new ways of engaging pupils in their study. Technology, naturally, is at the forefront.

Augmented Reality (AR) is one of the big changes seen at the school, with the technology now forming part of its new curriculum, which is also pioneering new ways of teaching. There will be less lectures and more scenarios.

Anyway, back to AR – what this allows, for example, is for students to see inside an animal by holding their smartphone up to that creature – instead of an accurate visual representation, like in a photo, they can instead see its bones.

“Designing guides to aid the understanding of anatomy, and the performance of clinical skills, by producing resources for our veterinary teaching suite and hospitals is the more serious teaching application of AR,” Ms Avril told the online news provider.

“Students can see through to the ‘inside’ of a horse just by holding up their smartphone. They can then relate this to the patients they are seeing in the clinic.”

Other highlights, as revealed in October by the university, include the development of a 3D equine heart, which emerges when a smartphone is held up in front of a similar drawing.